Pastors' Conference

The pastors came to be encouraged, to find new ways to do their work better, to exchange ideas, to grow spiritually, to build relationships.  They came from small rural towns and their journey was long.  It took one couple at least 10 hours to get from their town to Remedios where we held the conference.  Some came with their wives who I would also consider pastors because they work side by side

They came to learn about being emotionally and spiritually healthy; to remember that many times it is in our difficulties that we see God more clearly and to learn how to communicate with each other

When it was time to say goodbye, our hearts were full of joy and gratitude to God for the time he provided to meditate on His word, have a closer relationship with Him, and the time we spent with each other.

Our team is back in the United States now. Our prayer for the pastors is that "God who gives us hope will fill you up with joy and peace so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope."  Romans 15:13

NORTH CIRCUIT - EAST

On Saturday we headed East on the North Circuit. The last thing we expected was to find this great looking gym in the backyard of a church.  Francisco is a young pastor, new in the town and he wanted to share his enthusiasm of keeping the body fit with the town.  For more than a year Francisco and his friend worked to build the equipment. To date they have 16 young men who come consistently to the gym to exercise and who’ve agreed to listen how God can make a difference in their lives similar while they work at the gym to make a difference in their body.

Delivering living (potable) water

And in Florencia we discovered the town does not have an aqueduct.  That means that water does not get to the houses through pipes from a common place.  It gets to the houses from a truck that delivers water to a water tank.  When the truck arrives everything else is secondary.  People carry buckets of water to their homes. Such a necessity for life.

“to him who is thirsty i will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.”  rev 21:6

NORTH CIRCUIT - WEST

On Friday, the day after we arrived, we climbed into the van of one of the churches in the area and headed west on the North Circuit--a two-lane highway that runs along the North Coast of central Cuba where in September 2017 Hurricane Irma hit the hardest.  Irma was such a life changing force that it has marked time.  Before Irma.  After Irma. 

This first part of our trip was set aside to visit pastors in their home towns and hear people’s stories.  We’ve visited a total of ten churches and travelled close to 500 miles round trip in the past two days.  We heard many stories where broken hearts where pieced back together by God.

YANDI AND DUNIA

Isabela de Sagua is right on the water on the North coast of Cuba—it was on Hurricane Irma’s path.  Yandri selected this town for his retirement—a place to rest, take out his boat and maybe catch a fish for lunch.  He convinced his wife Dunia to move from Cienfuegos on the south coast of Cuba to the north coast of Cuba.  The two towns could not be more dissimilar.  Cienfuegos is a bustling urban town and a tourist attraction.  All of Dunia’s famiy lives there.  Isabela is a quiet coastal town without tourists or family.  Pichi and Dunia took their time to find just the right house to purchase and moved in to their dream home two months before Hurricane Irma hit.

They were allowed back home 72 hours after the hurricane;  not even sure their house would be standing since it abutted the coast.  Most of their home was standing but so many of her neighbor’s homes had disappeared.  One’s first instinct is to start sifting through the rubble to find prized possession. But Dunia’s heart was with her neighbors.  Walking out of her house she went to her neighbors--to console them, to help them sift through their rubble, to let them know that she was there for them. 

And just as she finished her story, the tiny canary she keeps in a small cage in her living room broke into the most glorious and robust song we have heard coming from any bird.  Reminding us that even in the worst of circumstances (a cage) we can sing a beautiful song for others, just like Dunia did.

KETI in Quemado de Sagua

Keti is animated.  She loves people, likes to laugh, sing, talk, and cook.  But the lively Kedy who greeted us at the door, cooking croquetas for us, was broken, sad and lost a few months ago.  Her brother, whom she had cared for and deeply loved committed suicide during “her watch” and her guilt and sadness broke her world.  Her laughter disappeared, joy fled her life and despair entered her world.  And then came Irma.  More brokenness and more despair. 

In her lostness she talked to her pastor, Angel Daniel (a young man who pastors three small churches in the North Circuit.  And yes, what a name).  He encouraged her and helped her remember the joyous part of herself.

She returned from her mother’s home to live with her husband in their home, took her pots and pans out; and with donated food she started to prepare meals for the elderly, the disabled, and families who had lost everything during the hurricane.  She reconnected with her purpose.

Keti loves the people in her town, many whom she personally knows.  She watches people who walk by and offers food to anyone who she thinks needs it. Today her joy of life is back.  You can see it in her face.  Her eyes twinkle, her smile is quick to come, her love shines through.  Irma destroyed property, maybe even lives, but we heard many stories where people were thankful to God for a new direction in their lives and a changed heart that only came about after experiencing brokenness in their lives brought on by the hurricane.

February 2018 Mission Trip

This February we will be traveling to remote rural areas in Cuba to ascertain where else God would have us provide assistance and "aliento".  The second part of our trip will be focused on the Pastors' Conference.  This is the fourth Pastors' Conference and we expect to have 50 pastors plus their wives participate.  The conference is hosted by Betania Baptist Church in Remedios where Alexis Hernandez Gonzalez is pastor. The purpose is to provide a time for spiritual growth, respite, and to give voice to the pastors to express the challenges they face and help carry their burden.  The dates of the mission trip are February 14-26 and the conference will be held February 21 - 24.